James Allison: The man behind Kimi's car

Interest in Lotus has skyrocketed since Kimi Raikkonen announced his return to F1 with the team last year. Jonathan Noble asked technical director James Allison what he has done to give the Finn a car his talent deserves

When Kimi Raikkonen announced his Formula 1 return at the end of last year, it was clear that 2012 was going to be a big campaign for the team now known as Lotus.

Not only was it going to be essential that the outfit showed that its sometimes challenging 2011 campaign was just a blip; it was equally clear that it now had a responsibility to ensure that the machinery it put on track was worthy of a former world champion.